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Lost Leads Have Washington Wizards at Loss for Words

The games aren’t getting any easier to stomach and the results continue to make Washington Wizards fans queasy as the team ended the week at 2-7, putting them in last place in the NBA’s Southeast Division and tied for next-to-last in the league behind only the Utah Jazz. Injuries, a lack of offense and poor defense has the Wizards in the same spot they’ve been in for the last few years: the bottom.

Nov. 10—Oklahoma City Thunder Defeat Wizards, 106-105
In a 106-105 overtime loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 10, Washington led by double digits for a much of the final quarter even before Thunder guard Russell Westbrook was ejected. Westbrook was thrown out following a scuffle with Wizards center Nene with just over three minutes remaining in the game and the Wizards leading by 10 points. Despite holding a double-digit lead on the road and watching one of the opposing team’s players exit the game, Washington could muster only two more baskets in regulation. In overtime, John Wall air-balled a last-second layup which would have given Washington the win.

Nov. 12 — Wizards Defeated by Dallas Mavericks, 105-95; and

Nov.13– Lose Against San Antonio Spurs, 92-79

Back-to-back road losses against the Dallas Mavericks, who defeated the Wizards 105-95 on Nov. 12, and the San Antonio Spurs, who claimed a 92-79 victory on Nov. 13, highlighted Washington’s lack of a scoring punch. Both opponents were able to hold Washington to low shooting percentages.

Nov. 17—Wizards Cave-in to Cleveland Cavaliers, 103-96
If the road trip was bad, things got much worse when the Wizards returned to the Verizon Center to host the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 17. The Wizards led by as many as 15 points but surrendered the lead before losing in overtime, 103-96. The battle of former No. 1 draft picks went to the Cavs’ Kyrie Irving, who netted 41 points, while Wall fizzled with just nine points on 3-of-13 shooting. Wall did dish out 12 assists on the night, raising his assist-per-game average to more than nine per game.

The sights and sounds from fans leaving the Verizon Center following the loss to the Cavaliers was the exact opposite of pleasant. What once held promise as a “playoff year” is slowly turning into another trip to the draft lottery for the Wizards, currently one of the NBA’s worst teams